Keep fighting.
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Well Happy St. Patrick;s Day to all of you real and honorary Irishmen.
Yesterday I was feeling pretty good so later in the afternoon we joined some neighbors around their fire pit. I didn't drink anything but several bottles of wine were consumed, lots of jokes and stories told and everyone was having a great time. One unusual thing about our neighborhood is that generally, fences are not allowed. That has allowed us to meet and get to know all the neighbors around us quite well. And this is a bunch that likes to socialize..
Ollie, I LIKE YOUR STYLE.BTW GFC, I'm pulling for you. You're doing great!
Now back to the fire-pit.
Minor change in status-->My hair seems to feel it's time to leave my head. Tina noticed yesterday afternoon there were a few of my hairs on my blue sweatshirt. I ran my hand through my hair and pulled out a bunch. Combed it this morning and it looked like I'd combed a shaggy dog. Crap.
U have a good point Craig, unless you have a watermelon head like mine!!!You have hair?..I don't ….life is better without it....especially on a windy day....and when you get up in the morning.... be positive
Prayers for a speedy recovery! I have my PSA checked every year without fail!Of all the threads I’ve started on here this is by far the most difficult I’ve written. The reason? I have prostate cancer. Well, actually I have Metastasized Prostate Cancer.
About 2 months ago a long time friend of mine that I’ve met for coffee every Thursday for the past 25 or so years told me he had prostate cancer and was going to have his prostate removed. I’m 73 and he’s several years younger than I am. He asked me when the last time I had my PSA checked and I couldn’t honestly tell him.
A quick call to my local VA medical center disclosed that I had my last PSA test done when I was 70. I asked them why they didn’t do it every year when I had my physical done and they hid behind the recommendation of the CDC that says something about not doing them for men over 70. I asked them why and they said they didn’t know, that’s just what the CDC recommends.
Quite frankly, I feel like they let me down. I assumed (Yeah, I know…) they did that every year as part of my blood work. Had they told me they didn’t routinely screen for PSA after a certain age I’d have requested the test be done.
So, I had blood drawn and had a PSA test done and the results were sky high. High enough that they rushed through an approval for the VA to pick up the tab for me to see a urologist. I did, they did another PSA test and confirmed the reading and scheduled me for a CT Scan and MRI so they could determine the extent of the spread of the cancer cells.
So now that we know the cancer cells have spread throughout my body, attaching itself to bones at several locations in this otherwise perfect male specimen, they scheduled me to see an Oncologist.
So here I sit, writing this thread which took several beers before I could bring myself to do it. I’m facing 6 months of chemo treatments, one every 3 weeks. Nobody is predicting this is going to end my life early, in fact the only thing they are predicting at this point is that at the end of the 6 months they’ll reassess how things are going and likely put me on another type of treatment.
The odd thing is that I have ZERO symptoms. No pain, no joint stiffness, nothing. I’m sure after I start the chemo I’ll go through the usual nausea, maybe some vomiting, possible hair loss, but nobody can even say that with any certainty.
The chemo drug(s) are a type of poison designed to kill the cancer cells. That’s the good thing. The bad thing is it’s still a poison and it may wreak havoc on me.
One thing is for certain: I am NOT going to let this kick my butt either mentally or physically. I look at this as a speed bump. I’m going to get over it then get my life back up to speed. There’s just too damn many things I have yet to accomplish in my life.
So, back to the question I posed in the title: When was the last time you had your PSA tested? Don’t let them tell you that because you’ve reached a certain age you don’t need your PSA tested. Bull crap. Get it done. Get it done this spring, and preferably before the next time you check the oil in your boat.
I didn’t write this thread looking for sympathy. That’s now how I roll. I wrote it with the hopes that some of you old farts out there who don’t know when you last had it tested will get your butt in gear and go see your doctor.
Smooth waters, light winds and fair skies.